


When A Doctor Needs A Doctor

by kate95



Series: WADNAD and What Happens After [1]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Crossover, NaNoWriMo, Wholock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-02-18
Packaged: 2017-11-25 07:12:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/636420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kate95/pseuds/kate95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Fall, Sherlock asks an old mate, the Doctor, to help watch over his doctor, John Watson.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. January 18, 2012

**Author's Note:**

> This was my National Novel Writing Month novel. Only about 25,000 words are part of the original plot I had in mind. I had to add a few subplots and epilogue-like chapters in order to make it over 50,000. 
> 
> I should actually be able to update regularly as I go back and edit.
> 
> Enjoy.

-January 18, 2012-

_" You were the best man, the most human, human being that I have ever known... I was so alone, and I owe you so much... One more miracle, Sherlock, for me. Don't be... dead."_

**  
**Sherlock Holmes, who was very much alive, had just watched his soldier talk to his empty grave a few days after the detective had faked his death. From behind the tree, he heard only a few phrases said by the army captain. John Watson had left with a sigh of defeat as he finally realized there was nothing he could do to bring Sherlock back from the dead and his life would go back to how it was before he met his best friend. **  
  
**It pained Sherlock to see John like this, it really did. Given the way John still had hope in him, Sherlock knew he would only have to be more careful while he was around London. Luckily a plan was already in place to help with that. **  
  
**The detective stayed hidden behind the old tree as John walked from the Graveyard. Sherlock pulled the hood of his coat over his head and wrapped his scarf around his mouth and nose (no one would question a person covering up their face in this unusual snowfall) and left through the opposite side of the graveyard. **  
  
**Sherlock made his way through the London streets, which were slightly less busy due to the weather. He found the alleyway near the Thames River and there he waited. The walls that surrounded him blocked the snowfall as he sat out and went over his plan a dozen times. Finally the familiar whirring sound of the old blue box shook him from his dazed state. The door of the TARDIS opened automatically to the old companion, welcoming him back, and Sherlock entered without a word. **  
  
**Inside the crazy man with two hearts and a bow-tie was curled over the TARDIS’s desk, frantically messing with the controls. "No, no, no!" he was yelling at the control console. "I do not have time for this. I was going to meet the queen of Shalakaria!" **  
  
**"I am duly sorry, Doctor, but the timing could have been worse," Sherlock pointed out while he leaned against the TARDIS door. **  
  
**Upon hearing the old voice of a friend, the Doctor swiftly turned around."Oh! It’s Sherlock Holmes! Nice to see you again." The over eager time lord embraced the detective as he entered the time machine. It had been well over a century since the Doctor had seen his old companion. The Doctor, sensing something was wrong, let go of the too still Sherlock. "Is something wrong? Something must be wrong for the TARDIS to have been drawn by you." **  
  
**Sherlock Holmes stayed standing near the TARDIS entrance. He looked as if he had hardly aged so it must have only been a year or two ago in Sherlock's life that they had been travelling through time and solving all of those ancient mysteries. ...But there was something new to Sherlock's expression the Doctor had never seen in him before. In his eyes was a look of certain sadness sprung from loss with an edge of resentful anger. **  
  
**Sherlock's voice snapped the Doctor from his collecting thoughts. "I trust you to remember the fact that you owe me a favour of questionable size." Sherlock’s words and the tone of his voice set off a thousand questions in the Doctor’s mind. Despite their old friendship, Sherlock was talking to the Doctor like a professional, as if he was interviewing a witness instead of meeting up with a mate. **  
  
**The Doctor blinked curiously at Sherlock. "Why, yes, of course." The Doctor cleared his throat. "Sherlock... tell me, what's wrong?" **  
  
**Sherlock strolled over and took his old seat in the middle of the TARDIS. Head bent down, his fingers went to work massaging his temples. Sherlock's voice was completely clear, but still the Doctor could hear the pain through the words as Sherlock spoke. "It is essential I disappear. It would be of great help to me if you would take me about half a year into the future. Six months from this day should be enough for everyone to have forgotten me. By then it will be much easier for me to go out into public, disguised with little effort." **  
  
**The Doctor leaned against the wall of the TARDIS. "I agree to the terms you set forth. All I ask is to know the details of what has gone so horribly wrong in your life." **  
  
**Sherlock lifted his face from his hands to look over the Doctor. He did his best to keep his voice flat and monotone as he told the Doctor of Moriarty and his twisted game. He started at the very beginning and did not stop until the end. Everything from the homicidal cabbie to the fall. **  
  
**As the Doctor listened to his sad tale, every once in a while he would notice a small grimace flick across Sherlock's face, only to disappear as fast as it appeared. **  
  
**The detective finished the tale without a single waver in his voice. Silence fell in the beloved time machine and was only broken when Sherlock, having finally looked up to meet the Doctor's eyes and seen his sympathy filled face, looked away from his friend with a deep sigh. "Best get a move on then." **  
  
**The Doctor nodded and tried to put some enthusiasm into his voice as he paced his way over to the console. "Right! Right! Off we go through time! It as quite a short distance in time but not matter! Just off on another short adventure for old time's sake." The Doctor cut himself off upon looking over at Sherlock who had returned his face to his hands. **  
  
**The short trip in the time machine was spent without a single word said from either of the two passengers. Upon arrival in the same alley near the Thames, Sherlock found one of the TARDIS's many closets (this one was labelled "Earth: 2000 - 2030") and changed into a light blue jumper, dark brown trousers, and a long tan coat. On his way back to the control room, he slipped into the newly renovated hat room and grabbed an ascot for good measure. **  
  
**"Here we are," pronounced the Doctor, sensing Sherlock's presence in the room. "The fifteenth of July in the wonderful year of two thousand twelve. Six months from the day you disappeared." **  
  
**Sherlock nodded in response before he made his way to the time machine’s exit. He paused before reaching for the door handle and cleared his throat. "Thank you, Doctor." **  
  
**"Any time, mate," replied the Doctor with a small, sympathetic smile. **  
  
**And with that the detective pushed open the TARDIS door to the all too familiar city of London. **  
  
**"Wait! Wait! Wait! Hold on a second!" As if suddenly remembering something, the Doctor bounded from the centre of the console room and caught Sherlock before he was able to step out of the TARDIS. "Do not forget this," he said, holding his hand out to Sherlock. **  
  
**Sherlock picked up his newly purchased mobile phone (Sherlock had obviously not wanted people to notice his original phone was missing, so he had Molly pick a new one up for him) from his friend's hand as the Doctor took out his own phone from his pocket. "Travelling through time I cannot help you in your situation. Especially with the Tardis because, let's face it, she can be quite noisy sometimes. And due to the ol' timey wimey, wibbly wobbly concept of space, we would find difficulties if it were not for this phone in my hand." **  
  
**The Doctor had that look on in his face that just said he wanted to be asked about his brilliant idea. "And the phone will...?" Sherlock prompted, knowing the Doctor was about to blast off into some overly enthusiastic explanation. **  
  
**"Well, you see here," the Doctor shot off into a fully detailed commentary that Sherlock expected to last no less than five minutes. Sherlock did keep his full attention on the Doctor as he always found this "timey wimey" technology fascinating. **  
  
**As expected, the Doctor took almost exactly five minutes (five minutes and three seconds) to describe the mechanics of their connected phones. The random flailing and bouncing ended along with the speech when the Doctor finished the simple concluding statement: "...which will thus connect our phones through time and space so they will always be on the same time line, that is to say, _your_ time line, until the two phones are in the present together, at which point the connection will break, letting the mobiles act as normal." **  
  
**The detective smirked at the Doctor once he finished. "Fascinating, as always." **  
  
**The Doctor returned the small smirk. "You best be off now," he said, nodding towards the door, "unless there is anything else you need." **  
  
**Sherlock shook his head. "No, but thank you, again." **  
  
**"I’ll see you around, old friend," the Doctor said as Sherlock turned to the door. **  
  
**"Goodbye, Doctor." Sherlock stepped out into the cold London air, leaving the TARDIS and the Doctor behind him. He was about to head off when a thought hit him abruptly. Sherlock turned around and caught the door of the TARDIS just before it closed. "Wait, Doctor!" **  
  
**The Doctor pulled the detective back into the Tardis before asking, "What is it?" **  
  
**"I do have one thing, just one more thing I have to ask you to do." **  
  
**The Doctor gave his mate a smile. "And what is that?" **  
  
**"I have this friend..." He looked away from the Doctor’s carefully still face. **  
  
**"Who is it, Sherlock?" ****  
  
The detective took a long, deep breath before answering.  
  
"John Watson."


	2. February 15, 2012

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor meets John, and John is sure he has lost his remaining bit of sanity.
> 
> There is minor gore in this seen, so don't read it if you find that kind of stuff triggering. This chapter is not too animal friendly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me far too long to edit and post. Apologies.

-February 15, 2012-

_"We've only just met and we're going to go look at a flat."_

 

After watching his old companion leave, the Doctor set the Tardis on course to arrive at Baker Street on the afternoon of February fifteenth. The Doctor knew he could not just waltz into 221B, but from what Sherlock said about John, the Doctor had a pretty good plan in mind and everything would most likely turn out fine.  
  
Before reaching the door of the flat, the Doctor ducked into an alleyway to, well, give him some privacy. This part of the plan was best done out of view of strangers. The Doctor did not mind hurting himself in order to help someone, and his goal was to acquire the doctor’s attention, so injuring himself seemed like the way to go.  
  
The Doctor knew how deep a cut had to be to need for a human to need stitches, but he also had to take into account the faster healing rate of time lords. The Doctor decided a few scrapes to the hands and a deep cut to his right calf would be sufficient for his cause. Sadly, he would have to replace his trousers... they were his favourite pair.  
  
Being himself, the Doctor had cut a bit deeper than he intended. Now the wound looked less staged, but there was a bit more blood than anticipated. The Doctor moved quickly. He found the building he was looking for in no time at all, and he didn't have to wait long for his knock to be answered.  
  
An older, motherly-looking woman opened the door to greet the visit. "Good Morn- oh dear, what happened to you!" the elderly woman gasped before putting her arms around the Doctor's shoulders.

"I seem to have fallen and hit a few metal things." The Doctor winced as he lifted his trouser leg just enough to show the bottom of the fresh cut.  
  
The elderly woman's face contorted into a worried grimace. "You came to the right place. A kind doctor lives here. Of course, we will have to get you up the stairs first. That is unless you want to go to the A&E.""  
  
The Doctor nodded. "A hospital is not needed. Are you sure it would not bother the doctor?"  
  
"Not at all. He is just having his morning tea right now," she said with a wave of her hand. "My name is Mrs Hudson, by the way, dear," she stated as the pair made their way to the flat. "And Doctor John Watson should be right up here in the sitting room."  
  
Mrs Hudson led the way into a cluttered room. Sitting at the end of the sofa was a smaller man who must have been Doctor John Watson. He was slowly sipping his tea, staring at the opposite wall straight ahead of him as if he was focused on a show on the telly.  
  
"John, dear, this man came to our door needing medical assistance," said Mrs. Hudson softly. "He has scraped himself up pretty bad, but not bad enough to pay the price of a hospital bill."  
  
John Watson looked up slowly and eyed the stranger standing next to the landlady. "You should know better than to allow a strange man to enter the flat by now. "  
Mrs Hudson sighed. "Look at him. He is harmless."  
  
"That's what you said about those Americans who hurt you," said John, his voice flat.  
  
"Please, Doctor Watson. I fell and it is very painful," the Doctor pointed down to his leg with an obvious grimace of discomfort on his face.  
  
"All right," John sighed as he pushed himself out of his seat and set his cup of tea on the coffee table. He grabbed gently around the Doctor's waist so Mrs Hudson could let go. "I will take it from here, Mrs. Hudson. You can go back to your telly now."  
  
"John is such a good man; he will take right care of you." Mrs. Hudson patted the Doctor’s back before turning and leaving the room. "Behave, you two," she called back from the staircase.  
  
John and the Doctor both watched her leave down the stairs to her flat. "Let's get you over to the sofa," John muttered.  
  
The Doctor made a noise of agreement before limping along with John across the room. "Thank you, Doctor Watson."  
  
The man cleared his throat. "John. Call me John."  
  
The Doctor nodded, "I really appreciate this, John."  
  
Once the Doctor was seated on the sofa, John grabbed his first aid kit that he kept for emergencies. The kit was full of extra sutures, bandages, ointments, syringes and other supplies that came in handy less often now John was living alone.

John sat down on the coffee table across from his patient. The Doctor could see the focus in John's eyes as the doctor in him took over. It was a change from the lonely, nothing man he seemed to be just moments ago.

"I'm the Doctor."  
  
John's eyebrows lifted in curiosity. "Just the ‘Doctor?’ No name to go along with the title?"  
  
The Doctor winced once more as John rolled up his trouser leg to reveal the deep gash. "Just the Doctor," he confirmed.  
  
John nodded as he inspected the wound. "Well, Doctor," he almost laughed at the absurdity of calling a patient that, "The blood seems to be clotting nicely, but I will still have to clean out the wound. Fortunately, I have some anaesthesia and sutures in the first aid kit. It was always a good thing to be prepared when being chased around London by madmen."  
  
"Sorry?" the Doctor questioned, continuing to play his role of a random patient.  
  
John just shook his head. "It's nothing." He cleared his throat before continuing. "I am going to inject the anaesthesia now. You should only feel a small pinch near the lesion and you may feel tugging at your skin as I stitch the cut up."  
  
John and the Doctor carried on chatting as the Doctor’s injury was stitched up. The two talked, but John never looked up from the wound, he was keeping his focus on the work. Every so often, the tugging and pulling the Doctor would fell from the procedure would threaten to take up all of his attention, but he kept looking over the John’s face. He wanted to analyse and make a correlation between Sherlock’s description of the man and the real person he was seeing now.

The description Sherlock had given the Doctor would have been fairly spot on if it were not for the haggardness that was now evident on John Watson's face.  
  
John questioned the Doctor about the cut , just the standard questioning so he would know whether or not the Doctor would need more medical assistance. The Doctor’s answers were nothing out of the ordinary, but one thing was still nagging at the back of John’s brain. "Why did you come here instead of the hospital?"  
  
The Doctor furrowed his eyes and sighed. "Awhile ago I went travelling with a nurse that circles around and works in a few of the hospitals here in London. The travelling did not end so well."  
  
John nodded as if he accepted the answer, but the Doctor was sure John was not completely convinced. His army instincts would kept him on edge if he held any suspicions at all.  
  
"What about you? A doctor home in the middle of the day when he could be at work?"  
  
John shifted on the coffee table but kept his gaze steadily on the Doctor’s wound. "I guess we all have our own reasons for avoiding hospitals and work."  
  
The poor man was definitely worse off than Sherlock had suspected when he told the Doctor of his flatmate. "Surely nothing horrible can hold someone back forever."  
  
John shook his head and sighed to himself. "It's not always that simple."  
  
The Doctor let the conversation drop, allowing John silence to think and work. Little time passed before John straightened up and, with a renewed tone of said professionalism, "You are all patched up now. Everything will be healed up in just a few weeks. You should avoid running and stressing the surrounding muscles until the skin heals over. Even then you may want to avoid running if it usually leads to this."  
  
The Doctor smiled as he rolled his trouser leg back over the wound. The regeneration energy would soon take over and completely vanish the injury. The Doctor stood up from the sofa, and walked toward the kitchen. "Would you mind if I made us some tea?"  
  
John moved to sit at the end of the sofa. "No, that's fine. Go ahead." He leaned back against the arm of the sofa and studied the strange man heading to his kitchen. "Now... what's the real reason you didn't go to the hospital?"  
  
The Doctor stopped in his tracks and turned to face John who was now sitting confidently with arms crossed. The Doctor chuckled and leaned against the doorway between the kitchen and sitting room. _You are a clever once, aren’t you_ , he thought.  
  
"You clearly want to stay unnoticed. Do you just not want to be found or are you in trouble with the law?" John had his arms crossed over his chest and a serious yet slightly sarcastic tone of voice.  
  
The Doctor grinned to himself. "Not quite that."  
  
John’s eyebrow raised in curiosity. Who was this ‘Doctor’ person? "Well, what is it then?"  
  
"I am not exactly from here," the Doctor said with the grin still on his face. He was tiptoeing around the truth, as wondered what exactly he should reveal to John. People tended to handle the whole "alien time-traveller thing" in a variety of ways.  
  
"What could you possibly mean by that?" John was continuing to be sceptical of everything the Doctor said.  
  
"Listen, John," the Doctor took a deep breath. "I am sort of a... a time-traveller, if you will. I travel around through time, and sometimes I will pick up a friend or a few friends to travel with me for awhile. That is why the hospital, or anywhere else, would not have any record of me, and it is best to keep things that way."  
  
"And you expect me to believe this?" The Doctor had obviously chose the wrong approach to confessing all this to John. "Did you really just come here to make fun of a man who lost his friend and refuses to believe his friend was a fraud? Is that it? Because that just makes you an awful human being! Leave now!"  
  
The Doctor edged back toward the door. Yes, definitely the wrong approach. Sherlock had mention something about a slight anger problem. "No, John... I swear, I am telling the truth. I am so sorry. Please."  
  
Most of the anger drained from John’s face as he slumped down back onto the sofa. He was sitting forward, elbows resting on his knees with his head in his hands. "Please. Doctor... who ever you truly are. Just go now."  
  
"John, please let me show you. I can show you your favourite historical era, building, culture... whatever you want, John. Give me this chance to show you, to prove to you just how wonderful this world is."  
  
John laughed at the Doctor’s words, but it most definitely was not a happy laugh. It was the kind of laugh that comes from a man who has finally decided he is completely out of his mind. "Oh, like you could just take me to see something like the gladiator contests in Ancient Rome’s. We could see the Colosseum in its prime. Yeah, right."  
  
"Easily." The Doctor's tone was so nonchalant it caused John to look up and stare at the confident Doctor. John studied the Doctor's facial expressions and body language to see if he was telling the truth. The Doctor did not shy away from John’s gaze, but instead tried to give John his best reassuring look.  
  
John could not find any hint of dishonesty in the Doctor, yet he could not find anything minutely believable in what the Doctor was saying. "And if I say yes and it turns out you really are lying to me..."  
  
"I am not lying to you, John. I give you my word. You will not regret trusting me."  
  
John sighed. The Doctor looked honourably genuine. It was hard to think he would or could lie like this. "Fine. Okay. Yes."  
  
"Excellent!" cheered the Doctor as he sped out of the flat, leaving the old army doctor standing alone in the middle of his home. An instant later the crazy fool returned to the flat. "Sorry, I am getting a bit ahead of things," the Doctor said a bit breathlessly. "That happens sometimes. Okay, a lot of the time. Anyway, we really ought to get going. We don’t have all day. Well... we do, but the sooner we start this adventure the better."  
  
John was speechless at the man’s seemingly complete change in behaviour. "Okay... take me wherever you have to take me."

~!~

  
The Doctor led John from the flat and a down Baker street. A few blocks away and between two buildings was a small car parking area. The Doctor did not lead John to one of the parked vehicles, which John had been expecting. Instead he lead John to a blue phone box.  
  
"This is it! My beloved blue box." The Doctor smiled proudly at the police box.  
  
"This is it?" John asked with a look of scepticism. "It can’t be that small, can it?"  
  
The Doctor completely understood John’s confusion. "This is my TARDIS," he said as he opened the door to reveal the inside. "That's Time and Relative Dimension in Space. Welcome, John, to the best ship in the universe."  
  
John entered through the doors of the TARDIS and stared speechlessly at the room surrounding him - a room that definitely did not fit inside of the small space provided by phone box. The insides resembled alien technology he had only seen on the telly. "This can’t be real," John said as if it were fact. He turned to the Doctor, looking a bit helpless. "How can this be real? How can I be seeing this? It doesn’t make sense."  
  
"Well, first off, I am not exactly human. I am a time lord - an alien by human standards," the Doctor said in a calm voice, hoping this all was not too much for John.  
  
John went back to staring around the room. "Apparently I lost my sanity along with my best friend," he muttered.  
  
The Doctor rested his hand on John’s shoulder and the human turned to meet his eyes."You are not making this up. All of this is real, John. You are not going mad."  
  
John turned away from the Doctor again and found a chair to sit in near the middle of the room. "But it doesn’t make any sense. These things don’t happen." The Doctor could hear the frustration and distress in John’s voice.  
  
"You have to trust yourself, John. You are not crazy. Everything you see before is just a small part of this wonderfully endless universe."  
  
"But aliens don’t exist." The Doctor smiled at John’s words, making the simple-minded human even more confused. "What?"  
  
"What if that is just what you have been led to believe? Aliens exist. Do you really think that Earth is the only home to living species in the universe?"  
  
"If you put it that way it makes more sense. It makes it more believable." John was rubbing his fingers against his temples, clearly stressed by what he thought was his over-active imagination.  
  
The Doctor walked over to the big console in the middle of the room, leaned against it, and turned to face John. "I can explain everything to you later. Earlier I promised you a trip to Ancient Rome, so allow yourself to forget about all of this now, and let your senses prove to you this is no an illusion."  
  
John removed his hands from the side of his face and nodded. "All right. If I am turning into madman, I might as well enjoy it." He sighed. "There is no point in suffering any more anyway."  
  
The Doctor’s smile faded as he turned around. "The TARDIS gives a bit of a bumpy ride, so it's best to hold on tight for your first few rides." From the corner of his eye the Doctor could see John sitting still, and not taking the his advice. "Right then. I will countdown from three. Three... Two... One..."  
  
John expected nothing to happen once the Doctor reached zero. He didn't think he would actually feel anything. After all, his mind was still set on not believing what was happening to him. But once again, he was surprised as the Doctor said "zero" and the box began to violently shake and move. John had not even realized his left hand had moved to clutch the railing next to his seat until the time machine calmed down.

The Doctor looked pointedly at John when he stood.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I did tell you you would have to hold on your first few trips in the TARDIS," the Doctor said.  
  
"I know you did, but you could have warned me about why I would want to hold on," John countered.  
  
The Doctor waved away the comment and with a goofy grin said, "Enough of this, we have an ancient civilization to visit." With that said he pushed open the door of the TARDIS.  
  
The sight that was revealed was almost exactly what John expected of Ancient Rome, except the city was about hundred times more real than he had ever imagined. The TARDIS had landed beside a tall building that was out of the way of the busy market streets. John only had to walk a few feet away from the time machine to get a view of one of the busy markets.  
  
It was John's automatic reaction to try to stare at everything - the streets, the buildings, the people, and even sky which was no different than the sky in the future. John wanted to take it all in. Everything was so vivid and defined. John took a few steps forward to get more out in the open to get a better view of the ancient world.  
  
"Hey, John! Hey!" The Doctor came running out of his TARDIS after John. "You can’t just wander off. Especially not in those clothes."  
  
"In these clothes?" John turned and walked back to the TARDIS. "What do you expect me to wear then?"  
  
"An old travelling companion of mine donated a gladiator outfit," stated the Doctor. He pointed his finger back into the TARDIS. "You can change into that. It should be in the closet labelled ‘Earth: Ancient Civilizations.’ If you take the corridor to the left and enter through the first door on your right, you should be in the closet room."  
  
John eyebrows stretched upward. "You mean to say that this machine is even bigger on the inside than what I have already seen?"  
  
The Doctor chuckled at John’s naivete. "Far bigger. Now go on. You don't want to be late for the opening of the gladiator entertainment."  
  
John stepped into the TARDIS, only to look behind him, back towards the Doctor. "Don’t you need to change into something? You look like a 1980’s university professor, not an ancient Roman."  
  
The Doctor shook his head. "While I wish to stay unknown to the masses, I find my friends across time and space recognize me better when I am wearing my normal attire."  
  
"Well, if you would excuse me for a moment," John said, disappearing into the TARDIS.  
  
"Remember to be quick!"  
  
"Right-o!" John called back as he made his way around the big room and into the corridor on the left. Following the directions the Doctor gave him, John walked through the first door on the right. The closet room was larger than John had expected. Of course, why would it not be larger in this alien space ship John had thought to himself.

The room was about the size of a large bathroom, with doors lining the three sides other sides of the room. Each door had a label for a different times and places. The wall to John's left seemed dedicated to Earth fashions.  
  
The door John was looking for was the second door from the left. Sharp black text spelled out, "Earth: Ancient Civilizations," above the tan-coloured door. John glanced around and caught a few other door labels including "Earth: English Renaissance," "Flitreen 12000-12500," and "Earth: 1980-2000." There was one door opposite of the entrance of the closet room that was dusty and with an aged look to it. The label read "Gallifrey: Golden Age." John wondered what was hidden on the inside of these closets.

By this time, John was not surprised to see that the closet was a whole changing room filled with racks of different clothing, each with specific labels.. At the far end of the room was the label "Ancient Rome." John found the Gladiator suit with ease and managed to only be slightly amazed that it fit him well.  
  
John left the changing room and exited the TARDIS and found the Doctor leaning against the side of the beloved blue box. The Doctor smiled at John as he looked over the Roman attire to guarantee it was the way it needed to be. "Excellent. Let’s go."  
  
The Doctor led John down a few roads, each getting busier and busier as the two got closer to the Colosseum. All around them people were chatting lively... in English. "Ah, Doctor?"  
  
"Yes, John?"  
  
"Shouldn’t these people be speaking Latin? Not English?" John asked.  
  
The Doctor grinned. "That would be the beauty of the TARDIS’s Translation Circuit. The TARDIS has a telepathic field that gets inside your brain. What is does is it translates what people are saying so you can understand it in native tongue."  
  
"So if they can talk to me and I can understand them, will they understand me if I talk to them?"  
  
"Yes, the TARDIS changes what you say so everyone can understand the things you say."  
  
John nodded to show the Doctor he understood.  
  
"We will be entering through the unnumbered gate in between gates thirty eight and thirty nine," the Doctor informed John. "That is where the magistrates sit."  
  
"And you’re a Roman magistrate?" asked John with his eyebrows raised sceptically at the Doctor.  
  
"Not exactly. I am more of an honorary magistrate," the Doctor said. "I helped out the Emperor Valentinian the First a couple times."  
  
John and the Doctor were now standing just outside of the gigantic amphitheatre. "Is that the entrance we are looking for?" John pointed to an unnumbered arch besides an an arch with "XXXVIII" over it.  
  
"Yes, exactly there." The Doctor clapped John on the back before walking off towards the unnumbered arch.  
  
John followed the Doctor through the entrance, up the stairs, and to their seats in the Colosseum. "Just in time for the show to start!" announced the Doctor, and it was true, they had missed the gladiator parade, but that was the only thing the two missed. Now a few unique creatures were brought into the arena and teased for a show. The beasts were collared and bound so they could not attack. This bit was all simply for show.  
  
Once the animals were led out on their carts, the first gladiator walked out into the middle of the arena. He attire was similar to John’s and he was holding a long bow with a quiver full of arrows slung around his back. A small herd of six deer appeared on the field soon after the man.  
  
"He is a Venator," said John mostly to himself. He was sure the Doctor already knew this, but since he did not say anything, John continued. "It looks like he is mostly specialized in the hunting aspect. Venators are also known to train the animals to perform tricks for a less violent form of entertainment."  
  
The herd of deer rounded the arena and the Venator readied his bow with an arrow. His first shot hit the biggest buck straight in the eye, killing it and scattering the rest of the herd. Another buck ran past the Venator, close enough for the Venator to jump on and mount the animal, earning a cheer from the crowd. The deer tried to rid his back of the gladiator, but the man used his free arm to hold on.  
  
With his bow around his arm so it would not fall, the Venator reached back and grabbed one of his many arrows. He stabbed the arrow through the deer’s ribcage, causing the buck to fall over. The crowd gasped the Venator flew and hit the ground hard, but began cheering again when the gladiator stood up as if the fall was nothing.  
  
Four deer were left.  
  
The gladiator shot two arrows in quick succession at two does running through the centre of the arena. The first deer was hit just below the jaw bone, and the other was hit in the lower neck. Both collapsed  
  
Two deer left now. One buck and one doe.  
  
The two deer were opposite each other in the arena, but that was no problem for the skilled archer. The Venator aimed and shot an arrow at the doe. The arrow tore through skin until it became lodged in one of the doe’s rib.  
  
The last deer, the biggest buck, was now circling the outer ring of the arena. The Venator acted as if he had something in mind for the grand finale. He started running towards the outer ring, right where the buck’s path would soon cross. The man made it to the outer ring and faced the direction of the oncoming animal. The deer stayed on course, charging forward with no signs of stopping.  
  
The Venator crouched down and prepared his bow and arrow. The buck was getting closer and was about to collide with the man when deer jumped and the man shot his arrow. The arrow pierced the buck’s underbelly in mid-air and the deer dropped onto the ground on the opposite side of the gladiator. The crowd roared as the Venator stood up and waved his quiver and bow in the air.  
  
The Venator was walked out of the arena while the crowd continued to cheer. The place was so loud John had to yell for the Doctor to hear. "That was amazing. I wonder what will be next!" They did not have to wait long to find out.  
  
As the deer carcasses were dragged out of the arena, a new gladiator found his place in the centre of the arena. The man was clad in basic leather armour and a helmet. He was equipped with a small dagger that resembled a knife. "He is a Bestiarius," said John, again mostly to himself.  
  
The beast the gladiator was going to fight was led out into the arena and revealed to be a tiger. The monster was three times the size of the human and looked fierce.  
  
The moment the battle begun, the Bestiarius charged toward the wild cat and swept his blade across the creature’s side, doing only enough damage to draw a noticeable amount of blood. The tiger roared in pain and swiped at the man, narrowly missing him by centimetres. The gladiator jumped onto the tigers back, wrapping his arms around its neck. The man did not have enough strength to completely choke the tiger, but he was able to anger the beast further.  
  
The tiger tried to paw the man off its back, but once those attempts failed, the tiger thought it best to try rolling over, forcing the bestiarius to the ground. This time the wild cat was successful. The man was forced off the tiger, but was able to avoid being smashed by its weight. Before the tiger regained its mobility, the gladiator slashed his dagger across the beast's torso, causing multiple lacerations. The tiger tried to tackle the man to the floor, but once again the man was too quick and swiped a few more deep cuts to the tigers belly.  
  
The crowded roared loudly as the Bestiarius avoid the tiger’s attacks, but the man made the foolish mistake of turning his back and acknowledging the crowd’s praise. The tiger took this chance and lunged forward with its paws outstretched, ready to strike. The man turned just as the tiger swiped its paw, and the man had thrust his own dagger forward.  
  
The tiger landed its attack on the gladiator’s shoulder, leaving three long cuts across his muscled bicep, surely causing muscle damage and scarring. The animal was worse off. When the bestiarius swung his blade, he sliced through the tigers neck, spilling and extravagant amount of blood. The tiger limped forward before stumbling over its paw and falling to the ground. The beast was dead.  
  
The man gripped his injured bicep with a spare cloth from part of his attire and stood tall, taking in the praise and approval from the cheering crowd.

As the Bestiarius was escorted out of the amphitheatre, John tugged on the Doctor's sleeve. "Can we go see the city?" John almost had to shout for the Doctor to hear him. The Doctor nodded and together they exited the Colosseum.  
  
"You know, I have always been interested in ancient cultures, Ancient Rome especially," John said once they were back out onto the streets of the city. "I can’t believe I actually get to see what it is like for real."  
  
The Doctor shrugged and smiled. "Just one of the perks of being a time lord."  
  
After awhile the two found their way back to the TARDIS. "You said you are a time lord," said John. "What all does that entail? Or, er, well... what are you exactly?"  
  
The Doctor turned to him with a more sombre attitude. "The Time Lords are an extinct race. I am the last one. My home is the planet Gallifrey. There is not so much else to tell."  
  
John just nodded. He thought it best to not push the Doctor further for the history of his people. "And this... this TARDIS. How big is it exactly?"  
  
"No idea. She changes every so often, especially when she is in a mood."  
  
"She?"  
  
"The TARDIS is definitely prefers to be a ‘she,’" the Doctor chuckled, returning to his optimistic attitude. "My ol’ girl."  
  
John relaxed against the back of his chair and folded his hands in his lap. "I still can’t believe this is all real."  
  
"But you know it is," the Doctor said simply.  
  
"I hope it is. I hope this is not a dream or a hallucination," sighed John. "It would be nice if you would tell me now instead of later - am I hallucinating?"  
  
The Doctor as he set the TARDIS on course for Baker Street. "Not at all."


End file.
